Santa Barbara County - July 6th, 2008

DESPITE THE GAP FIRE, AVOID THE 12
RUNS SOBRIETY CHECKPOINT IN SANTA MARIA,
TOWS 33 CARS, ARREST TWO DUI SUSPECTS

Even though many of the law enforcement officers in Santa Barbara County were covering the Gap Fire on Saturday night, (July 5) Avoid the 12 still ran a sobriety checkpoint in Santa Maria.

“We’re a multi-agency effort,” said County Sheriff’s Deputy Win Smith, campaign coordinator, “so we were able to pull officers from five jurisdictions.”

Officers screened the drivers of 1156 vehicles that passed through the checkpoint, ran five field sobriety tests and arrested two people for DUI. They towed 33 cars because their drivers were either unlicensed or had suspended licenses and handed out 13 citations for traffic infractions.

Smith reports that both DUI suspects became obvious when they weren’t able to present their driver’s licenses and were directed to an investigation area where they were found to be impaired.

“Corporal Eddie Hernandez of the Allan Hancock College Police Dept. identified one of the suspects in about three seconds,” he commented.  The driver froze when he entered the checkpoint’s traffic cone pattern and showed  the telltale, glassy-eyed stare of intoxication. He admitted to drinking an entire 12-pack on Saturday. His blood alcohol level was .021, more than two and a half times the legal limit of .08.

The California Office of Traffic Safety funds Avoid the 12 and 40 similar cooperative countywide crackdowns in California through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.